Typical examples of a liquid ejecting apparatus (liquid consuming apparatus) include a recording apparatus of an ink jet type which comprises a recording head of an ink jet type for recording an image. Examples of other liquid ejecting apparatuses include an apparatus comprising a coloring material ejecting head to be used for manufacturing a color filter of a liquid crystal display, an apparatus comprising an electrode material (conducting paste) ejecting head to be used for forming an electrode of an organic EL display or a field emission display (FED), an apparatus comprising a bioorganism ejecting head to be used for manufacturing a biochip, and an apparatus comprising a sample ejecting head to be a precision pipette.
The recording apparatus of the ink jet type according to the typical example of the liquid ejecting apparatus has such a structure that an ink jet recording head having pressure generating means for pressurizing a pressure generating chamber and a nozzle opening for ejecting pressurized ink as an ink droplet is mounted on a carriage and the ink in an ink container is smoothly supplied to the recording head through a passage, and printing can be thus carried out continuously. The ink container is constituted as a removable cartridge which can easily be exchanged by a user when the ink is consumed, for example.
To transfer information between the recording apparatus and the ink container, an electric or electronic equipment is mounted to the ink container. For example, a consumed ink amount, a remaining ink amount, etc. are transferred as information between the recording apparatus and the ink container.
JP-2002-337358-A (EP-1199178-A) discloses a technology in which a memory is mounted to an ink container and a consumed ink amount or a remaining ink amount is stored in the memory.
JP-2001-146030-A (EP-1053877-A) and JP-147146-A (EP-1053877-A) disclose a technology in which a piezoelectric sensor is provided for an ink container to detect the exhaustion of ink.
JP-2005-66902-A (EP-1462268-A) discloses a technology in which electrodes that contact with and separate from each other depending on the presence or absence of a pressure applied to ink and also depending on a remaining ink amount are provided for an ink container to detect the exhaustion of ink and so on.
JP-2004-106382 discloses a technology in which a piezoelectric sensor is provided for an ink container to detect the exhaustion of ink, and information is transferred between the ink container and a recording apparatus by wireless communication.
In addition, EP0710569-A discloses a structure for electric connection between a carriage of a recording apparatus and an ink jet type recording unit mounted to the carriage.
In a case in which an electric or electronic equipment is provided to an ink container removable mountable to a recording apparatus:
(1) it is necessary to reliably establish an electric connection between the recording apparatus and the equipment;
(2) it is necessary to protect the equipment from an external force that the ink container receives from an electrode of the recording apparatus;
(3) it is necessary to protect the equipment from ink mist and dust;
(4) it is necessary to design the ink container so that the ink container can be easily and efficiently subjected to recycle process after the ink container has been used; and
(5) it is necessary to reduce the manufacturing cost of the ink container.